A pressure group known as Abia Youths for Equity has insisted on Abia North senatorial district producing the next governor of the state in 2023.
The group, at a press conference in Abuja, Thursday, warned the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu against disrupting the zoning arrangement put in place since 1999.
It pointed out that choosing a candidate from Abia South, the same zone Ikpeazu hails from would make the PDP lose the state to the rival All Progressive Congress (APC)
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According to the coordinator of the group, Nicholas Nwachukwu, contrary to the Abia Charter of Equity which favours Abia North for next year governorship, the governor was conspiring with his kinsmen to retain power again.
“We have it on good authority that instead of power to shift to Abia North in line with the charter of Equity, the governor wants Abia Central, specifically, the Ngwa area to succeed him”, he alleged.
He said while they do not believe that the governor can conceive such an unpopular idea, there was the need for him to come forward and tell Abia people where his successor should come from.
The coordinator expressed the concern that some stakeholders in PDP were not speaking out against the plan to deny Abia North its turn to produce the next governor of the state.
According to him, since the governorship has gone round the three senatorial zones, it should return to where it started which is Abia North.
“In 2007, Orji Uzor Kalu publicly declared support for Abia Central which produced T.A. Orji. In 2015, T.A.Orji publicly declared support for Abia South which produced Okezie Ikpeazu. So we expect the governor to follow in that stead and declare support for Abia North, Nwachukwu said.
He said Ikpeazu has the opportunity to write his name in gold by supporting a power shift to Abia North as championed by Abia elders.
